Trump, a main draw for Truth Social users and many retail investors in the company, said earlier in September that he will not sell his stake. The stock price briefly shot up after his remarks.
Other early investors have made no such promises. They include ARC Global, a sponsor of the blank-check firm that took Trump Media public, and United Atlantic Ventures, an entity controlled by two former contestants on Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice.”
I believe it’s not only that these investors made no promises not to sell, but that several of them specifically expressed that they would be selling as soon as they were legally allowed to do so.
It’s hard to accurately value Truth Social. But I think if Trump were to leave the platform, its value would go to zero, and that makes it very risky. I just saw a price of 12.74. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still quite overvalued, and so it makes sense for those investors to try to sell at this price.
Trump’s statements certainly weren’t enforceable under contract law, said Robert Bartlett III, a professor of law and business at Stanford Law School. The former president’s press conference remarks weren’t accompanied by the formalities that made the lockup agreement binding.
But securities law might have something to say if Trump didn’t mean it when he said he had “no intention of selling.” That would make it a misstatement, under securities fraud laws, said Bartlett. And given how much Trump Media stock moved after the Sept. 14 press conference, a plaintiff could argue that the misstatement was “material.”
A sale by Trump on Friday would be an easy case, said Adam Pritchard, a University of Michigan law professor who’s written extensively on securities regulation.
‘If he sold today, that would be fraud,” said Pritchard on Friday. “The chance of lawsuit would be exceedingly high and even the SEC might decide it was worth a lawsuit.”
But Trump didn’t say he intended to hold his stock forever. If Trump starts selling stock some weeks from now, it becomes harder to argue that his statement was false, said Pritchard.
If he sells now, the value drops immediately to zero and a big thing with Trump’s name all over goes down in flames just before the election. That doesn’t help him at the polls.
We can’t trust him to do what he says, but we can trust him to look out for himself.
We can trust him to look out for himself as he sees it, not necessarily rationally. And also not to plan long-term if he needs a cash infusion now. Will be interesting (I guess) to see which pressure wins out
I believe it’s not only that these investors made no promises not to sell, but that several of them specifically expressed that they would be selling as soon as they were legally allowed to do so.
It’s hard to accurately value Truth Social. But I think if Trump were to leave the platform, its value would go to zero, and that makes it very risky. I just saw a price of 12.74. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still quite overvalued, and so it makes sense for those investors to try to sell at this price.
Closed at $12.44. I love it.
It’s losing money hand over fist, has a tiny user base and little name recognition. They have no assets worth anything.
The fundamentals are clear: the stock is completely worthless except as a wild gamble. People would be better off investing in penny-stocks.
And as influence peddling/money laundering for Trump.
And we know Mr Trump hasn’t dumped his stock because … he said so?
Are we back to believing anything this lying felon says?
https://www.marketwatch.com/articles/trump-djt-stock-sell-lockup-d4b275bf?mod=mw_quote_news
Anyone with over a 10% stake in a company has to give notice two days before any transactions.
If he sells now, the value drops immediately to zero and a big thing with Trump’s name all over goes down in flames just before the election. That doesn’t help him at the polls.
We can’t trust him to do what he says, but we can trust him to look out for himself.
We can trust him to look out for himself as he sees it, not necessarily rationally. And also not to plan long-term if he needs a cash infusion now. Will be interesting (I guess) to see which pressure wins out